This week Samsung launched its 2016 Galaxy flagship devices in India – the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. The prices for Galaxy S7 starts at Rs. 48,900 and S7 edge at Rs. 56,900 for 32GB variant.
Both smartphones are available for pre-order on official site and Flipkart. It will go on sale from March 18th. All the pre-orders will get a free Gear VR headset. These phones also come with double voice and data offer for Vodafone RED postpaid customers for 6 months.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 packs a 5.1-inch Quad-HD display and Galaxy S7 edge features a 5.5-inch Quad-HD Super AMOLED always-on display. Both devices in India will be powered by an octa-core Exynos 8 Octa 8890 SoC, runs Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), comes with a 12-megapixel Dual pixel rear camera with LED flash, OIS and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.
These have a 3D glass and metal design, IP68 ratings water and dust resistance and hybrid dual SIM support that lets you use the second slot as a expansion slot when required.
Both these smartphones were announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona last week. Check our hands on impressions here.
httpv://youtu.be/MnbkkZxKYVM
httpv://youtu.be/QfsMoff-XPE
With Cricket season going on, Oppo launched exclusive F1 ICC WT20 limited edition smartphone in India for Rs. 17,990. Oppo is also the official global partner of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the mobile phone category till 2020.
The Oppo F1 ICC WT20 limited edition smartphone has similar specifications as the original Oppo F1. It has 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4 protection, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 ( 4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor with Adreno 405 GPU, 3GB RAM, and 16GB internal storage. It has dual Hybrid SIM (micro + nano / microSD) support, 13-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash and 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
InFocus launched Bingo 20, the company’s latest selfie-focused budget 4G smartphone in India, a month after launching the Bingo 21. It has the same 5-megapixel front-facing camera with LED flash for capturing better images in low lighting conditions, 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash, 4.5-inch FWVGA screen, quad-core Spreadtrum SC9830 processor and Android 5.1 (Lolllipop), but this has 1GB of RAM instead of 2GB RAM in the Bingo 21, hence there is a slight change in the model number.
The InFocus Bingo 20 comes in White, Blue and Orange colors and is priced at Rs. 5,749. It will be available from retail stores across India.
Panasonic launched latest budget smartphone Panasonic T50 in India. It has a 4.5-inch FWVGA screen, is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) with Panasonic’s own SAIL UI. It has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Panasonic T50 comes in Rose Gold, Champagne Gold, and Midnight Blue colors and is priced at Rs. 4,990.
Dell launched a range of Dell Latitude laptops in India this week – the Latitude 13 (7370) 7000 ultrabook, Latitude 12 (7275) 7000 2-in-1, and Latitude 11 5000 Series 2-in-1. Company also launched new Dell 27 Wireless and UltraSharp 27 Wireless monitors alongside.
Dell claims that the Latitude 13 7370 ultrabook is the smallest 13-inch business ultrabook. It has been made out of carbon fiber and aerospace-grade materials. The device sports a 13.3-inch InfinityEdge display and comes with minimal bezels. It comes with up to QHD+ resolution, 6th gen Intel processors up to Core m7, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 512GB of SSD storage. Check full details here.
Besides the ultrabook and 2-in-1, Dell also launched the upgraded line of its Latitude 3000, 5000 and 7000 series laptops that are aimed for workplace.
Pricing and Availability
Dell Latitude 13 7000 Series Ultrabook price starting at Rs 79999, available April
Dell Latitude 12 7000 Series 2-in-1 price starting at Rs 87999, available March
The Dell Latitude 11 5000 Series 2-in-1 is available starting at Rs 59999
Dell Latitude 3000 series is available starting at Rs 44999
Dell Latitude 5000 series is available starting at Rs 54999
Dell Latitude 7000 series is available starting at Rs 64999
BLU launched two new features phones in India. The BLU Diva II has a built-in antenna for analog TV and the BLU Tank II packs a 1900mAh battery that promises 16 hours of talk time and up to 30 days of standby. Both the phones come with dual SIM support, 2G GPRS connectivity, 2.4-inch QVGA screen, FM Radio, VGA rear camera with LED flash and microSD card support.
The BLU Diva II is available from Amazon.in for Rs. 1,499 and the Tank II is available from Amazon.in for Rs. 1299.
Intex Aqua Twist, the company’s latest smartphone with a 5-megapixel rotating camera is became available from HomeShop18. Another budget smartphone, Cloud Force got been listed on the official website. Both the phones pack a 5-inch FWVGA screen, are powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core SoC, pack 1GB of RAM, run on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), have dual SIM support and 3G connectivity.
The Intex Aqua Twist comes in Black and White colors and is priced at Rs. 4999 (Rs. 5199 MRP) and the Intex Cloud Force comes in Dark Grey and White colors and is priced at Rs. 4999 (MRP).
Garmin India launched its vivosmart HR activity tracker in the country. In addition to activity tracking and heart rate monitoring, Garmin vivosmart also offers smart notifications such as vibration alerts for calls, texts, calendar reminders, emails and more when connected to a smartphone.
Garmin vivosmart comes in midnight blue and white colors, is priced at Rs. 14,999 (MRP) and is available exclusively from Amazon.in.
Fitbit introduced Blaze smart fitness watch at the CES 2016 earlier this year and company finally launched it in India this week. It has a coloured touchscreen with a variety of clock faces, automatic exercise recognition, tracks steps, distance, calories and floors climbed, keeps tabs on your sleep, and can wirelessly sync with your phone or computer. It also offers smartphone notifications and music controls once connected to a smartphone, similar to the Fitbit Surge.
You can also accept and reject calls directly from Fitbit Blaze when connected to a compatible smartphone. It has a slim design, interchangeable bands and frames. It promises battery life of up to 5 days on a single charge. The Fitbit Blaze comes in black, blue, and plum band options and is priced at Rs. 19,999 in India. It is available exclusively from Amazon.in.
Check our hands on with the Fitbit Blaze from CES 2016.
httpv://youtu.be/lSDxWPExSoo
Zebronics launched its first consumer-oriented virtual-reality headset. It can fit phones between 4.5-inch up to 6-inches. The ZEB-VR comes with magnet toggle switch, has a metal neodymium ring and a ceramic disc. This lets you interact with the mobile phone VR application.
The Zebronics ZEB-VR headset comes in black color with blue rims and is priced at Rs. 1600. It is available exclusively from Snapdeal at an offer price of Rs.1,375.
Weekly Announcements
Apart from launching Galaxy S7 and S7 edge in India, Samsung in Russia and Philippines introduced new Galaxy J1 (2016) (SM-J120) and the Galaxy J1 mini (SM-J105). The Galaxy J1 was first shown off in Dubai, while the Galaxy J1 mini surfaced in benchmarks last year. Both these phones come with dual-SIM support. The Galaxy J1 (2016) also comes in 3G variant in some market. Check full specifications here.
The Samsung Galaxy J1 (2016) and the Galaxy J1 mini come in Gold, White and Black colors. According to earlier reports, the Galaxy J1 (2016) costs AED 499 (US$ 136 / Rs. 9080 approx.) in Dubai, but no details about the pricing for Galaxy J1 mini yet.
The firm also officially listed the Galaxy Tab A 2016 on company’s German website. It is called as Tab A for the Europen markets and should be launched soon as the Galaxy Tab E in the US.
The Galaxy Tab A has a 7.0-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels and is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor. It has a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 8GB of expandable internal storage, and a 4,000 mAh battery. The Samsung Tab A is listed in black and white models on the website. There is no information about the pricing of the tablet yet.
Xiaomi introduced its 10000mAh Mi Powerbank Pro with USB Type-C support and fast charging. It also charges faster such that it takes only 3.5 hours to charge the power bank fully with 18W charger. It is just 12.58mm thin, weighs 223 grams and has a Aluminum alloy body.
On the bottom, it has a power button, LED lights for battery level indication, USB Type-C slot for charging and a standard USB slot for output. It offers 12V / 9V / 5V output.
Xiaomi also introduced Mi Box 3 Enhanced Edition powered by a MediaTek MT8690 2 (2GHz Cortex A72) +4 Core( 1.6GHz Cortex A53) 64 bit processor with Power VR GX6250 GPU, 2GB LPDDR3 RAM and 8GB eMMC 5.0 storage. It runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop), supports H.265 10bit 4K at 60 fps and Dolby DTS audio. It has Bluetooth 4.1, two USB 2.0 ports and a HDMI port.
The Xiaomi 10000 mAh Mi Powerbank Pro is priced at 149 yuan (US$ 22 / Rs. 1530 approx.) and the Mi Box 3 Enhanced Edition is priced at 399 yuan (US$ 61 / 4100 approx.). These are currently available only in China.
Lastly, ZTE this week announced Blade V580 in Japan. It packs a 5.5-inch 1080p display, is powered by an Octa-Core MediaTek MT6753 processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, fingerprint sensor on the back, 4G LTE connectivity and hybrid SIM support. Check full details here.
The ZTE Blade V580 comes in Silver and Gray colors and is priced at 27,800 Yen (US$ 246 / Rs. 16565 approx.) in Japan. It will go on sale starting from March 25th.